[Cielmira]

The crisp chill air of the billowing mountains was, as per usual with the area, being battered around with the mysterious wind source from the maw of the crestfallen castle. A pleasant result of course was the minimal level of Starvia floating around due to the currents. It did unfortunately make traveling more dangerous. For the brave heroes of the Life Sphere it was just another day.

Sitting in a clearing of rock near the castle entrance was the mystical Spirit Gate. A light trickling through the slit left in the stone slabs composing the sliding door and the pulsating blue cryptic lines that spidered out from its base and along its form made the gate rather impossible to miss even at a distance. Unsettled gravel laid strewn about likely as a result of the gate forcing its way into existence.

Amaterasu carefully padded into the clearing dwarfed on all sides by solid rock walls save for the thin trail that led her here, and the one on the opposite side that led to the castle itself. Without a doubt there was something that belonged to her beyond the gate's threshold; and she had a pretty good idea what it was. Though the chance of the gate letting out to the same place it had in her previous visit was doubtful so she could be wrong.

[Coolshaymin]

With a blow of Cherry Blossom Petals in the wind, some rocks started popping up from a point in the ground until they disappeared after Viridi materialized near Amaterasu with her signature theme, Viridi, Goddess of Nature, playing in the background. "Hello, Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. Viridi, Goddess of Nature. Now we wait for that Aura Powered Wolf,  and we can go find your toy," Viridi said. Why does Viridi know what type of god Amaterasu is? Well, gods have to know other god... Or maybe some kind of Goddess Sense... 

[Deleted]

Little did they know, Lucario had already arrived, and was in fact meditating near by, preparing his mind for the upcoming battle that was sure to come. His senses had been heightened, as he visualized the harsh winds blowing through the plains, and he himself becoming one with the wind, a protector and yet a destroyer. Hard yet fierce. H visualized the ground, an unmoving mass, one that could be very hard to move, solid, and unwilling to surrender to the harsh winds that ravaged the lands. He then visualized himself, battling the infected and chipping away at their ranks, one by one, becoming as harsh as the wind in his attacks, and unmovable as the ground in his defense. 

However, something disturbed his meditation, a presence he had never before felt. Was that who he was helping assist in acquiring this holy instrument? They felt powerful indeed, as if there was some force that would never seise to be there, no matter what someone did to try and change that. The feel of their aura was certainly that of a good person, so perhaps they were. No idiot would attempt to acquire something they could not use, because if you can't use it, what's the point of it? But then something else changed, a smell of cherry blossoms, and some of the earth being disturbed. That must of been their ally, Viridi. He had heard she was a Goddess of nature, but he had never taken that seriously, now he was being proven wrong. That was quite a breather indeed.

The Lucario then stood up and opened his eyes as the two grew near, hearing her comment which was clearly directed towards him. She had done her research. He turned away from the slab of the castle wall and towards the two Goddesses, making his presence know. "I was already here. I assume you are my allies in this mission?" He wasn't very interested in finding the instrument, but it would probably assist in destroying the infected, which was his main concern. The infected were a blatant threat that disturbed the balance of quite a bit on this planet, and it was time to set that straight.

[Cielmira]

The shift in the wind signalling the arrival of the other deity was a pleasant change. The familiar scent of blossoms reminded her of Nippon. The wolf momentarily closed her eyes to allow the scent to carry her back to the pink petals dancing in the wind during the festival. Viridi's voice brought Amaterasu back from her calming memory, the pair of onyx eyes locking onto the young girl's form. A twist of the head to the side and a heavy exhale was the canine's response: toy?

Her attention was redrawn back to the gate with Lucario's entrance. Or rather, to the announcement of his presence. The wolf eyed the bipedal pokemon with interest. He looked like less of a wolf than some other pokemon images she had seen around the sphere. Such a strange world that universe was. But the point was mute; mostly because it was only something in her head.

With a couple wags of her tail and an excited bark the white wolf made her way closer to the partially open gate. Likely wasn't a good sign that it was already open, who knows what could have gotten in. As Ammy got within a few feet of its doors the light shining from beyond brightened in a quick flash. Following that an echoing grinding of rock against rock rumbled through the area as the doors slid further open for the group. The sun goddess took a moment to glance back at her allies to ensure their resolve before heading in.

---

Stepping into the blank bright nothing in the spirit gate the enveloping light would dissolve hazily into an area much like what they had just been standing in. The wind was gone, the mountains were lush with fauna and seemed less sheer. The clearing was still behind them as was the gate, but the daunting bridge that had led to the crestfallen castle was replaced with solid earth mottled with a stone pathway leading up to a respectable fort.

At this distance it was somewhat hard to be sure but it seemed the large reinforced wooden gates to the fort had been broken through, and inside the distant clash of steel amongst the murmur of an angry crowd could be heard.

[Coolshaymin]

Viridi payed no mind to Amaterasu's apparent disbelief in her comment. She was here to pay the debt the nature Amaterasu had saved, nothing more... And being a more tolerable Sun God than Pyron but that is another story entirely. It appears the Lucario was indeed the one waiting if his comment meant anything. "Do we really have to confirm that when you overheard my comment? What other Aura Powered Wolf can I be referring to?" Viridi replied as her Staff of Nature formed in her hand from Pink Flower Petals. Sure, she did not really need a magic modem, but it was nice to have a reliable Melee Weapon.

Viridi followed Amaterasu into the gateway as a new... somewhat new area appeared to them. Finding it in a fort may be monotinous but it should be easy... Unless someone just happened to get here before them, great. "Sounds like there's a battle going on in there. Shall we intervene?" Viridi asked as she already started walking closer to the fort.

[Deleted]

"In other words yes, you are indeed." Lucario responded, caring little for Viridi's comment. Amaterasu appeared to be incapable of actually communicating with them. That would be a problem. If the person they were supposed to be assisting was incapable of communication, that meant that they would have no way to tell them what a holy instrument even looked like. Lovely. However, they seemed to know where they were going as they approached the strange gate. He two approached, not caring for any more drivel from Viridi. Seriously, she seemed to be a pro at spouting meaningless conjecture.

Arriving in the new place was, jarring, to say the least. Or at least for him. He suddenly had to adjust to a whole new wave of aura, which is not an easy task. You try being in one place and suddenly being assaulted by at least fifty new sensations and see how you handle it. Well that's pretty much how Lucario felt and then some as he fell to his knee in pain, attempting to adjust to these new sensations. He panted and slowly adjusted, glaring towards the sounds of combat. He couldn't even make out what was going on there, but it seemed to be in the distant past, as the castle was in tact to say the least.

Why was a battle occurring he wondered, and when had it began? Would his intervening mean anything in the long run? Possibly not because if this was in the past as he suspected, either they wouldn't be able to change anything, and this whole area was lethal, which considering the fact the dirt had shifted when he fell, possibly not, or it simply meant that time had already taken their arrival into account, and made sure things played out how things were meant to occur. However Vridi seemed to determined to veer away from the mission of finding this holy instrument, and rather becoming a part of the battle occurring in the castle.

"What would be the point, Viridi." He responded, having herd her name from her self introduction to Amaterasu, "Not only have these events already occurred, which is clear by the younger aura surrounding this place, and the new, pristine fort that wasn't there just a moment ago. These events occurred years ago, and whatever action we take may not change a thing, frankly I'm surprised the past isn't lethal as I've always suspected it would be. And whatever foren germs we have brought along with us, the people of this time would not have treatments for, they would all get sick, and die. We are better off leaving them be, saving ourselves a lot of trouble, and finding Amaterasu's holy instrument."

The Lucario was against their presence there in the first place, he felt all things had some sort of balance, whether it be time or the soul, he muttered about the impulsiveness of this Goddess and panted a little, his speech not only left him short of breath, but he was still in mild pain from readjusting to the sudden new amounts of aura surrounding him. However, he was slowly recovering and would be fit to move on shortly. He eyed the fort one last time, he had no reason to go towards the battle. To do so would be foolish, and the events would likely not change the outcome in the slightest.

[Cielmira]

The canine had her ears perked as she listened, agreeing with Viridi's observation of a conflict occurring within the fort. Amaterasu was never one to shy away from any sort of confrontation, but for a few moments the more immediate concern was that of Lucario. Not quite grasping the reasoning behind his sudden falter the white wolf quickly hopped to his side and began sniffing curiously. She grumbled in her silent pondering of the cause while the aura pokemon recovered.

She eyed him suspiciously for the next few moments as he took in the new surroundings. While he appeared strained she didn't note any obvious harm done to him on the outside. Perhaps he just got motion sickness going through the gate or something. Ammy sat on her haunches and continued to observe the bipedal 'wolf' as he spoke, scratching her ear for a moment during the speech. A soft rumbling could be heard from the fort.

He had some valid points, she assumed. Probably. The white wolf stood back on all fours and looked between the two before settling her eyes on the fort. She recalled her previous experience with the gate and it seemed everything handled itself quite well... not that she ever went back to check on things. Oh well. It isn't like the gate just shows up randomly and opens at any time. There was reasoning behind their arrival here, at this spot, at this time. The rumbling grew louder, like something was digging toward them. Plumes of dust began obscuring the form of the distant castle.

Amaterasu barked disapprovingly of Lucario. At the very least she couldn't stand idly by listening to a battle. What if it was infected that had gone through the gate before them? There were times she disliked being unable to communicate through common speech, but the other playful benefits of the canine form outweighed speech bound utility any day. The wolf twisted around to begin a brisk trot down the cobbled path through the lightly forested area.

As a slight breeze picked up, Lucario's would be able to sense an unholy aura from the bushy area in front and to the right. It was approaching at a rather rapid speed through the trees, low to the ground. This was separate from the thing burrowing its way from the fort. As it continued to get closer two large padded sticks could be seen sticking above ground as it moved. Amaterasu's hair bristled and she slowed her approach to the fort, lowering her stance as she readied for it; unaware of the aura coming in from the trees.

[Coolshaymin]

Viridi was able to read animal communications better than most, being a Goddess of Nature, so she could tell easily who's side Amaterasu was on. "I for one have no diseases. Besides, Amaterasu seems to think we are here at this time for a reason. In any case, looks like she agrees. Our client wants to check out the battle so we must, now don't we Lucario?" Viridi said as she continued her walk.



However, rapid tunneling in the earth alerted Viridi to an approaching threat. Grabbing her staff, she readied herself to fight the tunnler. She thought for a second before attempting to unroot the tunneler with a Tree Uppercut. However, like Amaterasu, she could not sense auras and the trees were not exactly being disturbed so she had no way of knowing there was another threat.

[Deleted]

Lucario turned as he heard the tunneling, there was definately something there. However, he noticed the evil aura coming from the trees more than the enemy coming from the ground. Why? Because there was nothing there. He turned his back to the two and looked towards the trees, aura beginning to eminate from his paws. He breathed in and then stomped his left foot forward, throwing both of his arms behind him as he charged up an Aura Ball. He could tell they were surrounded, and it ticked him off that they had fallen into such a pathetic trap.

"We're surrounded." He stated, calmly. The calm didn't show in the ball as it charged however, as it occasionally shook, threatening to combust on the spot. What was over there? What did it want with them?!

[Cielmira]

The ground rumbled more savagely just before a large tree erupted from the ground underneath the thing burrowing its way toward the group. Ground cracked in lightning patterns from the sudden disturbance in the road making the mottled stone pathway heave with the thick roots now weaving their way underground. As for the creature unfortunate to be on the receiving end of Viridi's attack it was sent spiraling into the air, bouncing harshly against branches before descending in a heap on the ground.

Sprawled on the ground with a bit of a twitch in its leg was a bucket namahage. Amaterasu, having jumped back a bit from the surprise tree, growled at the demon. Perking, the namahage swiftly picked up its large spoons and somehow simultaneously slung the giant wooden bucket on its back all in the smooth motion of standing up. The demon had quite the spring in its step despite looking a little battered from the attack. It looked to the wolf, then to Viridi, and finally to Lucario when the pokemon told the group of being surrounded. The demon beat its two spoons together angrily then went to dive underground again; this time not leaving an immediate obvious trail as to its whereabouts. It didn't even seem to break the ground it had just burrowed into.

Alerted to the possibility of others Ammy took a few more steps back toward Viridi and the planted aura reader charging an attack. She glanced around the trees on either side of the path, ears flicking around to try and catch a sound. With the clang of steel still pinging through the air at a distance and the mild breeze rustling the leaves it was hard to pick up anything being sneaky. Though she could have just been too distracted with keeping an eye out for the emergence of the bucket namahage. Based on previous history it should be showing up with the familiar spoons very soon... The wind seemed to be picking up as time went on, but it was still nothing in comparison to the mountain pass on the other side of the gate.

The approaching aura in the wooded area continued forward, hastening its pace once the first move was made. It did start making its movements through the brush more audible but mixed with the swaying of the leaves above it seemed to fit right in. Whether that was planned or not was hard to say. Soon it was was near the edge, coming in between the two deities and Lucario. The demon made a great leap out of the bushes at the pokemon, giant blade in hand aiming to come down on its stationary opponent. Nearly simultaneous to this was the reappearance of the bucket namahage. It's spoons popped up to Viridi's left and were coming in fast. Amaterasu barked a warning before shuffling off to the side looking ready to jump.

[Coolshaymin]

TMTNWOjHp_1d20

p_1d20+2

"That thing is all, this should be..." Viridi started until she heard Lucario's declaration. "Great, it can never be that easy," she complained. With the rustling she could not really pick up the location of the other one so it would be easier to smack this... great, it got better at hiding. Oh well, the disturbances in the earth should make it easy to counter the- Viridi's thoughts started until she got smacked unsuspectedly by the enemy. "That is if I do not roll horribly."

"Okay, you want to play games? I'll give you games! Let's play Whack-a-Mole!" Viridi said as she attempted to drop a Cragalanche Crush on the Mole before Tree Uppercutting and following up with another Cragalanche Boulder.


p_1d20(Decent Cragalanche Crush)

p_1d20(Above Average Tree Uppercut)

p_1d20(Less Decent Cragalanche Crush)1d20·1d20+2·1d20·1d20·1d20

[Deleted]

edJsD8xap_1d20+1
Lucario seemed to smirk as he watched his new opponent burst from the trees and made itself known. There was nothing he could do for the other two, as he was stuck in that position, charging up his Aura Ball, which was at full power. The slow attack speed of the opponent had left themselves wide open, and he couldn't help but mutter how pathetic the demon was for falling into Lucario's trap. Suddenly the Aura Ball vanished, dissipating into Lucario's palm, giving him the opening he needed. He suddenly made an unexpected move, he threw his right foot forwards and began to move his arms in a slow motion.

As he performed this action, he suddenly began to faze out of existence, and two more of him appeared, gazing in and out of existence, and him along with them. And as the blade came down on him, he and the clones vanished completely. Where had they gone? That would be revealed in a few seconds as he suddenly came out of no where, behind the demon. He would slam his fist into the Demon's back, and attempt to string it into a combo.1d20+1

[Cielmira]

Spoons flailing wildly at Viridi the namahage was too distracted to notice the boulder falling out of the sky. Considering that Viridi hadn't moved from her spot and the demon was practically underneath her the goddess' aim had better be really precise. Considering it was underground at her feet one would almost assume she had a better chance of taking damage from a falling boulder than the target. Regardless the mass of rock slammed into the ground, its mark the spoons still assaulting the air around Viridi. There was a muffled squeak of a noise but otherwise it was hard to tell what sort of effect the boulder had.

Swiftly following up, another tree erupted from the earth. Once again dangerously close to the girl who summoned it as the bucket namahage was right at her feet. Luckily for Viridi, Ammy lurched forward and pulled her back by nipping her clothes to ensure she didn't injure herself in her narrow focus on the burrowing demon. As for the bucket namahage, it was sent flying into the air in a repeat of its initial appearance. As it fell a second boulder came crashing through the tree to follow the demon to the ground. For the first time the namahage was able to deflect an attack.

Spinning through the air the demon used its huge enforced bucket to hit the boulder just off course. The demon still smacked into the ground with a single harsh roll, but at least it wasn't crushed. Staggered, the bucket wielder wobbled to its feet and the color drained out of it. Literal stars began swirling around its head as it bobbed side to side in a daze. Amaterasu snarled and unleashed a power slash on the beast before diverting her attention to their other ally. Lucario seemed like he was doing fine though.

The blade namahage's attack only met the ground, the metal weapon clanging off a few stones in the path. As it brought its weapon back up the demon looked confusedly in the direction all the blurry copies of his opponent had appeared and gone. It turned its head back and forth, sounding a lost squeak as a visible question mark inked itself into being above its head. The demon didn't even consider that the pokemon had sidled his way to its backside.

After the first punch connected the demon immediately spun around to put its cleaver in between them to act as a shield against further attacks. It may not be the smartest tool in the shed but the blade namahage was made of stern stuff. It would defend against any further melee attacks, but looked ready to switch to the offense if Lucario backed off.

42%

6%

[Coolshaymin]

"Hahaha! Looks like someone can't handle the Beatdown!" Viridi taunted as the demon got dazed after the onslaught. The slash stifled her laugh as she Tree Upper cutted the Digger before turning back towards Lucario. Knowing she was slower than the other two naturally, she decided to range it. She summoned some flower petals out of her hand and shot the razor sharp petals at the Blade Namahage, trying to aim for the spots he was not protecting. And to make things harder, she triggered a blue bolt of lightning to strike from behind with its paralyzing power.

EY2iwRiHp_1d20+3(Below Average Petal Strike)

p_1d20+3(Weak Phosphora Bolt)

"... Really? Did Dark Pit infect my rolling?"1d20+3·1d20+3

[Deleted]

Lucario quickly took notice of the Blade Nahamage's guard. Lucario wasn't going to break through that any time soon. Problem was, he didn't just have to worry about the enemies attacks, apparantly he had to worry about his allies as well. That wasn't very good considering he was a very one on one type of fighter. He quickly switched position as he observed Veridi attempt to assist him, but in the process Attack him instead. Lucario quickly spring into action, grabbing onto the Nahamage's blade, and using it to flip over his opponent and toss him towards the attack. And there was one more thing the Blade Nahamage had failed to take into account.

As lucario watched his opponent be tossed into the attacks meant for it, and stomped his left foot forward once more. His feet shifting in the dirt as he brought both paws back once more, and allowed the ball of aura he had just finished charging appear once more. Lucario's eyes widened as he thrusted both his arms forward, taking the Aura ball with them, and then allowed it to fly right towards the Nahamage. The demon had no where to go, which was good for them. He smirked as he watched it sail, figuring it would hit his target.

VD|a37h5p_1d20+2(Decent Aura Ball)1d20+2